Mail is a good thing. You would be surprised how much longer I linger over something I get in the mail vs. e-mail. My mail will likely stay on my desk longer since it is a break from the daily onslaught of e-mails. The more tailored the “Legal Update” or similar item is to my role or my company’s industry, the more likely I am to review it. Consider that I will likely plan to forward it on internally. If you have a state specific update for a state my company operates in, send it to me.

Communication: Good counsel is communicating with me even when there is no current case or project. If I only hear from you when a case is filed, I’ll question whether you want to be our partner or just a random service provider. If a case is filed, I expect to get numerous calls and e-mails. Be the counsel who is our “go-to” team and invest some non-billable time in finding out what I need.

Most Valuable Information: Give some thought to items of value to those in the company who I support. If I support Human Resources, be thinking about information I can provide to that department. The more times your name is seen on items sent around in the company, the more likely it will be that you will be viewed as a needed resources if we need outside counsel.

Webinars are a good thing. Outside counsel rarely understand how much of life in a corporate environment is meetings. Meetings are so commonplace that a webinar is the easiest most effective way to get information (and yes, some of your marketing) to me and others. They should be no longer than an hour – and have slides that I can review later or forward. Spell check your slides before you present, by the way.

When I can’t make your CLE. If you have a CLE presentation, and I can’t make it, send me the materials –and not by e-mail. I get enough e-mails as it is. Do yourself a favor and put it in a binder that will encourage me to keep it on my desk.